Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter thirty-one f "Dark Desire." This chapter has the final appearance of Tommy and Kim's parents. The next few chapters will herald the final appearances of the other Rangers, Zordon, Alpha, and the villains. I want to focus on Tommy and Kim only. It remains uncertain if this fic will get a sequel. Stay tuned for chapter thirty-two.

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Chapter 31: No Longer Feeling Angry

Marty waited for Lillian to be done with using the bathroom four minutes later. He dug the heel of his tan boot into the red rug that stretched the entire hallway. He heard the toilet flush and footsteps approach the door. The door opened, a slight squeak sounding. She stepped out while adjusting the waistband of her blue jeans. He laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you feel better now, honey?" he wondered.

"I feel much better," she responded.

"Good," Marty said and kissed her cheek. He saw a frown form on her face. He came to the front of her and cupped her chin in his hand. "Let me guess. You feel bad about yelling at Caroline."

"Yes, I do," Lillian admitted with a sniffle. She let out a shuddering breath. "I am sorry I did, but I couldn't help it when she made those baseless accusations about Tommy."

"I shouldn't have yelled at her either, but who could blame us? We didn't think someone would ever accuse Tommy of kidnapping a girl and holding her captive somewhere," Marty explained gently.

"Most parents wouldn't," Lillian added, a tear falling from her eye. She wiped it away. "That's for sure."

"We've seen that boy thinking about girls several times. It makes wonder if he has had any fantasies about them," Marty commented, cupping his chin in his hand.

"Most likely," Lillian murmured and cleared her throat.

"Hmm," Marty replied and let out a long yawn. "Anyway, teens don't know the first thing about committing any kind of crime, including kidnapping. They often leave a trail of evidence behind."

"That trail often includes phone records and journal entries," Lillian said and smacked her lips.

"Exactly," Marty yelled.

"Teens have a habit of bragging to people about crimes they have committed," Lillian pointed out and cringed badly. "That includes murder."

"Oh, yeah," Marty agreed. "When I think about kids being nabbed, I think about little Jaycee Dugard. She disappeared from Meyers two years ago. That town is in this state."

"She was waiting for the bus stop when the kidnapping occurred. Her stepfather, Carl Probyn, witnessed it and pursued her kidnapper on a bike. When he couldn't catch them, he called the police," Lillian said, hetr body shaking.

"Searches started immediately after Jaycee's kidnapping was reported. Unfortunately, there have been no reliable leads, despite Carl's witnessing the kidnapping and pursuit of the kidnapper," Marty mumbled, sighing sadly. He mumbled inaudible words in Spanish. "You'd think that would've helped."

"I can't help but wonder why that girl was kidnapped. Was the kidnapper a man who wanted her for his sexual pleasure?" Lillian asked, showing much disgust. She felt bile rise into her throat, but she forced it back down. "There have been many stories of girls being kidnapped, raped, and murdered throughout human history. It's happened to boys too, though it is not as often."

"It is possible Jaycee was kidnapped to be given to a childless couple. Many couples are desperate for children," Marty suggested.

"Most childless couples want babies they can raise, but some will take children of any age," Lillian said honestly.

He nodded in agreement. He let go of her chin and took three steps backward. She clasped her hands together and twirled her thumbs around. She bit her lip before swallowing hard.

"Speaking of children, Georgia Tann used the Tennessee Children's Home Society as a front for her illegal adoption ring in Memphis. It is estimated she stole and adopted out five thousand children from 1924 until 1950," Marty commented, shuddering badly. "She acted like she was a caring woman. In reality, she didn't give two shits about children."

"She and her associates targeted poor and uneducated families for their children. Their favorites were widowed, divorced, and single mothers," Lillian replied. "They would threaten them into handing over their children. They even kidnapped some of them from their doorsteps. The majority of the children were little babies."

"They would meet with potential adoptive parents in hotel rooms. Many of the couples were wealthy. They paid a lot of money for the children," Marty added.

"Georgia made caregivers neglect babies she deemed unworthy of adoption," Lillian whispered in much disgust. "Many rejected babies were given to untrained caregivers." She gritted her teeth.

He became angry. "The caregivers dealt with 'unruly' babies by abusing and neglecting them. One even placed them in strollers in the direct sun. The babies literally baked to death."

"Talk about horrid," Lillian muttered.

"Yep," Marty agreed.

"Judge Camille Kelley helped Georgia with her little scheme. It is estimated five hundred children died due to neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse," Lillian hissed, curling her hand into a fist.

"Unfortunately, Georgia got away with what she did. She died of uterine cancer before her secrets were exposed in September 1950," Marty said and emitted a loud snort. "Camille retired in 1950. She died in 1955 without ever being charged for aiding and abetting Georgia."

"If people think baby-selling doesn't happen in this day and age, they are wrong," Lillian said in some fierceness. "It does happen."

"Some maternity homes have baby-selling operations. They operate under the guise of helping young mothers find adoptive parents," Marty said through clenched teeth. "It is disgusting people would sell children for profit."

She huffed. "Some people are willing to pay big bucks for a healthy baby. They don't care if it is illegal. They only care about getting that perfect baby."

Lillian took her husband's hands into hers. She gave them gentle squeezes before rubbing the backs of them with her thumbs. She let out a soft sniffle and licked her lips.

"I guess we should head back downstairs and talk to the police officers some more," she whispered in uncertainty.

"If Officer Weedy is still on the phone with Caroline, would you like to apologize to her?" he asked curiously.

"Sure," Lillian answered while nodding in a slow manner. "I am sure she regrets the accusations she made and will apologize to me. I don't blame her for being frustrated about her daughter missing in the least bit."

"I am starting to wonder if Tommy did blow off his study date with Kim and was rude to her. It would've been because of the stress of moving out here," Marty commented.

"Moving away from your hometown can put a lot of stress on anyone," Lillian commented.

Marty yawned. "Let's head back downstairs."

Lillian nodded in agreement. "Yes."

Marty and Lillian put their arms around each other as they headed for the stairs. They proceeded to go down them.

00000

Justin was still talking to Caroline on the phone in the kitchen. Kylie was writing notes on her notepad. She stopped and tapped her pen against her temple. She got an idea and proceeded to write some more. He eyed Marty and Lillian coming into the kitchen. They stopped beside them, releasing their hold on each other. He turned his attention back to the phone.

"Marty and Lillian have returned to the kitchen. Would you like to talk to either of them?" Justin asked.

"Sure," Caroline said softly. "I would like to talk to Lillian since she is the one that I argued with first."

Justin nodded. "All righty then."

Marty breathed deeply as the officer gazed at him. "Thank you."

Justin nodded at Marty and took the phone off his ear, handing it to Lillian. He went over to Kylie's side and sat down with a light grunt. He leaned toward her, and she gazed at him as she stopped writing.

"I am glad I talked to Caroline and calmed her down," Justin whispered.

"Me too," Kylie agreed. "I have a feeling that Tommy and Kim's parents will be able to work together in this situation."

"So do I," Justin commented, pulling away. "That doesn't mean tensions won't rise between them from time to time."

"Of course," Kylie agreed, looking down at her notepad. "If everyone got along one hundred percent of the time, life would be very boring. Society can't survive with telling the truth all the time."

"Nope," Justin said with a shake of his head. "People have had to lie because they didn't want friends finding out they were planning surprise birthday parties for them."

"Unfortunately, some people are blabbermouths and spoil the surprise," Kylie grumbled, rolling her eyes.

The officers shifted their attention to Marty and Lillian. They observed the latter putting the phone to her ear. The former rubbed his nose, followed by his leg.

"Hi, Caroline," Lillian whispered gently.

"Hello, Lillian," Caroline responded in a soft voice.

"I want to apologize for yelling at you over what you said about Tommy. I shouldn't have done that, but I could help myself," Lillian said in much regret.

"I want to apologize for what I said about your son. I was just upset over my daughter's disappearance. I desired to direct my frustration at him because of the way he treated her," Caroline commented, sighing sadly.

"Marty and I talked about wondering if Tommy really did blow off a study date with Kim and was rude to her while we were upstairs," Lillian pointed out.

"Are you starting to believe he did both to her?" Caroline wondered.

"Yes. I am not defending his likely actions, but there is no doubt stress would've made him act that way. Moving across the country can be stressful for anyone," Lillian explained.

"Oh, it is," Caroline admitted. "My husband's parents moved from Boston to Angel Grove many years ago. They suffered a lot of stress. It put some strain on their marriage, but they worked through it. They have another son named Steve. That makes him Kim's uncle. He is a pilot."

"Does Steve enjoy flying?" Lillian asked in much curiosity.

"Oh, he loves it," Caroline said warmly. "He has taken Kim with him a couple of times. By the way, how long have you and Marty been police officers?"

Lillian exhaled slowly. "We've been police officers for twenty years."

"It is good to know that. I have to say it is ironic two officers reported their son missing to the police," Caroline pointed out.

"It sure is," Lillian agreed. "By the way, Tommy isn't our son by blood. He is our son through adoption."

"No way," Caroline yelled in shock.

"It is true," Lillian responded. "His birth parents died in a car accident when he was five. He came into our care. We decided to adopt him after he lived with us for months."

Caroline blew hard. "That is very interesting. You and your husband are good to take in an orphan and adopt him."

Marty waved his hand toward himself while mouthing 'May I talk to her?' Lillian nodded at him and put other hand on the phone.

"Would you like to talk to my husband?" Lillian asked.

"Sure," Caroline replied.

Lillian removed the phone from her ear. She gave it to Marty, who put it on his ear. She headed over to the chair across from Kylie to sit down.

"Hi, Caroline," Marty said in a low but calm voice.

"Hi, Marty," Caroline said and cleared her throat. "I am sorry for yelling at you as well."

"I am sorry for yelling at you too," Marty whispered regretfully. "I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it."

"At least we are calm now," Caroline commented in gentleness. "The main focus is finding our children and bringing them home."

"My wife's brother has a cabin. Tommy would've taken his jeep up there if he felt down," Marty responded.

"Your son can drive?" Caroline asked in surprise.

"Yep," Marty said with a nod. "He was born after Labor Day. He went through T-1 at Moore Elementary School because he wasn't ready for first grade."

"I see," Caroline murmured. "Some freshmen do have their driver's licenses already in this city."

"Okay. Lillian and I firmly believe Rita was responsible for our children's disappearances," Marty pointed out.

"Daryl and I see some possibility in that. She isn't above using innocent teens to harm the Power Rangers," Caroline whispered and sniffled. She choked back a sob. "We want to bring our daughter home so badly."

"We want to bring our son home just as badly," Marty commented in a low but firm voice. "We have to work together in order to find them."

"I know," Caroline agreed. "I am willing to do that."

As Marty continued talking with Caroline, Lillian looked at Justin and Kylie. She propped her head up with her elbow.

"I feel relieved to have apologized to Caroline," Lillian murmured, sniffling quietly.

"All of us say things we regret later," Justin said truthfully.

Kylie tapped her pen on the table. "We apologize for them."

Lillian cleared her throat. "It lifts the weight off our shoulders."

Lillian, Justin, and Kylie shifted their attention back to Marty. He proceeded to talk to Caroline about Tommy's coming to Kim's defense when Bulk and Skull harassed her.